A Dull Shade of Purple
by BreadLoaf
Summary: Useless. It was one thing that Odd Della Robbia could not stand to be. Yet, with XANA destroyed, he wasn't a hero any more and the feeling of being useless would manifest itself in depression. A depression that would eat the blonde from the inside out. It would destroy that smile and turn that shade of purple dull. Parings OxA and UxY.
1. Chapter 1

**A Dull Shade of Purple**

**Chapter 1**

At this one moment, he was completely happy with just fiddling with his shoelaces, legs brought up close to his torso, nothing to distract him. Only wanting to know just how quickly he could tie a knot with one hand.

Days on end would pass like this now: finding something meaningless and utterly pointless to do and immersing himself in it for hours. Once he got bored, he would move onto something else and waste time doing that.

The last, faint rays of the winter sun sparkled over the horizon before vanishing; Odd Della Robbia would watch, half-disinterested and half-fascinated at the end of yet another day before returning to his worn out, one-size-too-small, purple Converses.

Grumbling to himself at how hungry he was, Odd began to regret that he skipped dinner, despite the fact he had a pile of unfinished homework that needed doing within the next two days. He looked resentfully over at his best friend, Ulrich Stern, who was allowed extra portions of dinner after soccer training, thanks to Jim. Ulrich, who was snoring softly and only halfway out of his soccer gear before collapsing completely, twitched in his sleep, followed by a quiet grunt. Odd froze for a second, watching him to see if he would awaken. After half a minute, however, snoring resumed and Odd relaxed, glad he didn't wake his friend.

For some particular reason, which he hadn't been able to fathom for himself, Odd preferred solitude more often, disregarding his usually extraverted, jokey persona. It had been two months since the defeat of the logic and power driven virus, XANA, and recently Odd had been feeling obsolete more and more with every passing week since. He didn't know why it was only him feeling this and not any of his other friends (at least to the extent of his knowledge), but he knew for sure that XANA wasn't the only contributing factor.

He thought of speaking to Jeremie; to ask him for advice, before realising it would be the equivalent of trying to discuss politics with a brick wall. Jeremie love for writing programs or creating logarithms that only he could understand had not waned since the supercomputer was shut down. He paid little attention to his supposed girlfriend Aelita, at least none he could see in comparison to their group, and hardly showed any interest in anyone or anything unless it concerned computers.

If Odd needed to consult someone, Ulrich would be his go-to person. But Ulrich, alike to Jeremie, was more introverted and liked to bottle his feelings up rather than deal with them. Yumi was the same, perfectly functional in small groups, but socially awkward when faced with situations involving many people. Odd knew that this trait wasn't bad, it allowed for everyone in their circle of friends to have their own unique style, but for him right now, it couldn't have been more useless.

Odd's eyes, which had been casually drifting over everything in the room, fell upon a photo of him and the four other ex-Lyoko Warriors outside the factory in which they spent half of their time in over the past two years. There was Jeremie, leaning casually on the factory wall, an arm around his shoulders belonging to Ulrich whose other arm was around Yumi's waist in a hug that seemed a little too close than what would be considered "just friendly". On Yumi's other side, sitting on the grass was himself, tongue poking out through his trademark smile. One arm was connected with Yumi's via fist bump, and the other was used to give bunny ears to...  
Aelita.

He could consult her for advice; Aelita, the naïve girl they freed from the supercomputer, the girl that has evolved so much over the past year and a half since her freedom from Lyoko. She was no longer the shy, fearful child with frequent nightmares but now the disc jockey for the Subdigitals. She was now the girl that had lived through problems yet still kept the group one and a whole. Odd realised that he could relate to her so much more now that she was as human as he.

He needed to talk to someone, and Aelita was his best bet. He didn't care if she wasn't able to help, but Odd felt the need to talk to _someone_, for the humour of Kadic Academy was fading away, and he was the one to see it first.

_**pgb**_

_The following day:_

An unusual event that occurred for Yumi Ishiyama was to be alone at home, especially on a Sunday. But her father had gone on a small course for his business and her mother had decided to tag along to give him some company. Her brother on the other hand, had stayed the night at Kadic in Johnny's dorm. Johnny stayed in a double room, yet he had no roommate so a spare bed was available whenever it was needed. Nevertheless, Yumi relished in her solitude and the fact the usual morning noises were replaced with an eerie silence, just the way she liked it.

Yumi stared out the window at a sparrow that had taken abode inside a tree on her front yard, thinking about how she would pass the day. _Maybe with Ulrich... _a voice said inside her head and she blushed slightly at the idea despite there being no-one else in the room. With the recent defeat of XANA, she had more time to do things she only wished of before now. She had more time to study for her exams and finally was getting eight or more hours of sleep every night.

Finishing the last of her cereal, which she had always preferred over a traditional Japanese breakfast, Yumi slid off her chair, dumped her bowl into the sink and grabbed her bag. Taking one last look at the house before it was once more besieged by her family, the geisha made her way out of the house, and towards Kadic Academy. It wasn't a school day, but at least she would be doing _something._

_**pgb**_

It was a miracle that the buttons on the only vending machine in Kadic had not yet broken, but they were looking worse for wear nowadays. However, this did not stop Ulrich from smashing the hot chocolate button relentlessly, hoping to get his drink dispensed faster. Luckily enough, a cup fell from the machine and thankfully was filled with steaming deliciousness; Ulrich grabbed the cup and breathed in the alluring scent before taking a small sip.

"Morning Ulrich," said a familiar voice from behind him. Ulrich turned to see Odd walking up to him and frowned at the lack of a terrible joke followed by a laugh. Odd's demeanour was also strange, his shoulders were hunched over, Ulrich noticed, as he got closer and he seemed to shuffle instead of walk. There were bags under his eyes and the almost non-stop grin wasn't there either.

"Hey, Odd. Up all night? You look terrible," Ulrich replied as he took another sip of his hot chocolate.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep for some reason. How'd the soccer practice go?" Odd asked.

Ulrich narrowed his eyebrows, Odd had seemed to redirect the topic of conversation away from himself too quickly for his liking, "It was good," he shrugged, "if we continue like this, we should win our next match."

"Cool, hang on one sec," Odd said, and he stepped round Ulrich. He inserted a coin into the vending machine and pressed the "Coffee" key. The machine made a whirring sound before they heard a loud bang. The light on top went out, and neither cup nor coffee was dispensed.

Odd groaned, "You have got to be kidding me!" And he kicked the machine hard, "Why do you always break down?" He kicked it twice more, before storming off to the cafeteria.

Ulrich watched as this took place, completely shocked seeing his best friend react in such a way. "_What was that about?" _he thought. Taking it as just Odd being tired, Ulrich followed after him. But something in the back of his mind said there was something extremely wrong, and upon entering the cafeteria his suspicions were confirmed when he saw Odd near on throw his tray down in front of Rosa. The cook, who looked completely taken aback, gave Odd his serving of porridge without comment and Odd, who was glaring at the floor, took the tray and walked over to their usual table and slammed it down.

Something was definitely wrong with Odd Della Robbia, and Ulrich was just about to walk over to him and find out, when someone lightly punched his shoulder, "You need a haircut, y'know."

Ulrich turned to face the owner of the voice and saw Yumi there with a smile on her face, "Hey Yumi, what's up?" Ulrich grinned as he saw who it was.

"Nothing really, you?" She replied, reaching to push one of Ulrich's bangs out of his eyes. Ulrich blushed slightly as she did.

"Err," Ulrich was eyeing Yumi now, suspicious of her actions, "We- Well, I'm aching from last night's soccer practice but apart from that nothing."

"Great, you doing anything today, because I was thinking we could go watch a movie?" Yumi winked, "It can be your choice, I'm just up for something to pass the time."

"Just the two of us? Like- like a date?" Ulrich stammered and Yumi frowned.

"Not like a date silly, Odd, Jeremie and Aelita can come too if you want. That's if they're up for it as well." Yumi sighed.

"No," Ulrich said and Yumi looked shocked, "I- I mean, I'm cool with it being just us two." Ulrich added quickly and Yumi relaxed. "Great!" she exclaimed, "You having breakfast then?"

The suggestion of breakfast immediately reminded Ulrich of Odd, "Yeah, I was just about to get it," Ulrich stated. "Hey Yumi, have you noticed something off about Odd recently?" he asked as he made his way over to the serving counter with Yumi tailing him. Yumi glanced over at Odd, and shrugged, "No, not really, but..." Yumi tailed off.

"But what?" Ulrich prompted.

"Well, he has seemed a lot less jokey lately, and he's stopped trying to date every girl in the school." Yumi thought out loud, "He's probably just realised he run out of girls to dump and it hit him hard. Why, you think something's wrong with him."

Yumi grabbed two croissants and passed one to Ulrich while he was served some porridge, "Yeah, just earlier the vending machine broke on him, and he quite literally freaked out and kicked the thing."

"I'd kick it too, that stupid thing drives me crazy," They made their way over to where Odd was sitting playing with his porridge. He put some onto his spoon, lifted it slightly over his bowl, then flipped it upside-down, letting the food fall back into his bowl with a small "plop".

"Morning Odd!" Yumi greeted as she sat down, "What's up?"

"Nothing." Odd mumbled, barely flicking his eyes up to see who it was that was talking. Once again he scooped up some porridge, and let it fall into his bowl, not eating any of it.

"Jeez Odd, are you ill?" Yumi joked, "You're not eating anything. Rosa's food not up to your standards or something?"

"Not now Yumi." Odd said, quite harshly too Ulrich noticed. "Are you sure you're alright Odd?" The older boy quipped, "You haven't been your usual self lately."

"I'm fine, OK." Odd's voice was louder now, as if he was getting fed up with the conversation. "Just leave me alone."

And he stood up, glared at Ulrich and Yumi, who were looking utterly confused, and walked quickly out of the cafeteria. Ulrich watched as Odd moved across the courtyard, stopping at the dorm building and throwing the door open, letting it bang loudly against the wall. The brunette saw the younger boy glance sadly back at the cafeteria for a few seconds, before walking through the open door, and out of sight.

"What on earth was that about?" Yumi said after a minute of shocked silence.

"I don't know, Yumi, but it isn't good, whatever it is." Ulrich grimaced, staring at the door Odd had just passed through.

"Should we tell someone? Could Jeremie and Aelita help?"

"Yumi," Ulrich sighed, and both pairs of eyes caught each other in their gaze, "I really, truly don't know."

**A.N: So, what do you guys think? Is it too cliché for you, or does it need to be more so? Leave a review telling me what you thought of the chapter and how I should improve. But please, no flames.**

**I don't know how many chapters long I should make this story. If I find myself running out of ideas, then the chapter quality won't be as good, so the story will be shorter. If you guys keep on liking it, then I'll try to keep it going!**

**This (hopefully) should be the longest authors note, so don't worry about having to read even more, post-chapter.**

**Thanks for reading! - BreadLoaf**

**...And don't forget to REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Dull Shade of Purple**

**Chapter 2**

"Why don't you call him Mr. Puck?"

_A small girl with vibrant pink hair sat in the middle of a room, clutching onto a cotton figurine that resembled a small elf. Next to her was a man with greying-hair, glasses and a warm, smiling face. On the girl's other side was a woman with hair as rose-coloured as hers and a warm smile only a mother could give._

The scene changed.

_A flash of white faded into black. A rush of wind on her face. A firm, cool, metal floor was beneath her petite frame. She opened her eyes and found that she was in some sort of capsule filled with a dazzling yellow light. The capsule seemed to be in a large room with two tall, cylindrical chambers across the room._

_Four people were in the room with her._

_A purple diamond._

_Green jacket, cargo pants._

_Raven black hair._

_Glasses._

_All smiling._

The room was replaced with a forest, and the cylindrical chambers with trees.

_Fear._

_Pure, comprehensive and total._

_It consumed her._

_It overtook her._

_A low, ear-splitting growl sounded from behind her._

_The girl's breathed hitched in her throat._

_She didn't look, she just ran._

_Ran from certain death._

_Adrenaline coursed through her body, blinding her from seeing anything ahead._

_The girl tripped on the root of a tree and fell, crashing to the ground._

_The growling was louder than ever before._

_This was it._

_This was the end._

_..._

_..._

BANG. BANG. BANG.

A loud knocking started the girl from her sleep. Her pink hair fell listlessly into her eyes and cold sweat covered her body. She took in the room around her: tinted-red walls, posters of the SubDigitals and the faint scent of cherry perfume.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

The pinkette jumped again. Somebody was at her door. She yawned, stretching her arms and allowing herself to relax. It was all a nightmare, slipping away from her with every passing second. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Aelita Schaeffer granted entry for the person outside her room.

"Come in." She said wearily, her voice cracking slightly from not being used.

She saw the familiar purple splotch before the person who owned it. Odd entered her room, and immediately Aelita saw something wasn't quite right about him. His eyes were red and puffy, yet wide open and darting around. His hair also was amiss; ruffed up and not styled to its usual point.

"Hey Aelita." The blonde said quickly, the distress detectable in his voice.

"Odd." Aelita said, "You don't seem too well. What's up?"

"We- Well. I just want- wanted to ask y- you something," Stuttered the clearly sleep-deprived teen.

Aelita furrowed her eyebrows. This wasn't like Odd to be scared. What was going on?

"Ask away." She said tentatively, as to not upset her friend any further.

"I err... I wa- want some ad..." Odd trailed off.

"Odd?" Aelita prompted, confused as could be.

"Never mind." He said, before bolting out through the still open door and slamming it shut behind him.

Aelita listened intently as she heard Odd's walk briskly back to the stairs until it quieted into nothingness. "What was all that about?" the pinkette asked to no-one in particular. Concerned for her friend, she made a mental note to talk to Ulrich about Odd's peculiar behaviour. She stretched once more, before leaping out of bed. Grabbing her clothes for the day from her cupboard, Aelita made her way to the shower.

_**pgb**_

Not a word had been shared between Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama since the events that took place not fifteen minutes before. Both were still comprehending what had actually happened to their usually jovial friend to make him so temperamental at the smallest thing. Their thoughts were interrupted, however, by Aelita.

"Hiya guys, whatcha doing?" She smiled and sat down next to Yumi, who shifted up the table slightly to make more room.

"Nothing much, Aelita," Yumi replied, "Just passing the time."

"Eh, same. It is Sunday after all." Aelita remarked. "Besides, I am starving."

The pinkette picked up her spoon and began shovelling her porridge into her mouth, barely leaving herself time to swallow before grabbing another spoonful. Ulrich raised his eyebrow at the quickly diminishing portion of food. Within a minute, Aelita was scraping her bowl for one last mouthful of oaty sludge. Upon finishing, Aelita looked up to see Ulrich's mouth slightly agape and smirked.

"Wow, Aelita," Ulrich exclaimed, "At that rate, you could challenge Odd to an eat-off."

At the mention of Odd's name, Aelita's face changed from satisfaction to concern and the smile slipped from it just as quick.

"Ulrich, can I have a word with you for a minute."

Ulrich looked confused.

"You know," Aelita continued, "In private."

"Oh." Ulrich mumbled, before standing up quickly. "One second, Yumi."

Yumi, whose eyebrows were raised in a quizzical look, glanced quickly at Ulrich, then Aelita, before shrugging and turning to look out the window at the frost-covered trees in the distance. The brunette gave a small smile in Yumi's direction, but she didn't notice. Turning, Ulrich let Aelita lead him outside into the cold air.

Going around to the back of the cafeteria, Ulrich shivered and pulled the collar of his jacket closer to him in the attempt to retain some warmth. When Aelita was certain that no-one was eavesdropping, she turned to face Ulrich. His suspicion on why Aelita was acting so peculiar was confirmed when the pinkette asked "Have you noticed something kind of strange with Odd lately."

"Yeah, I have." Ulrich stated bluntly.

This obviously upset Aelita, as worry not only shone on her face now, but in her eyes. "Do you think we should be concerned?" She mumbled anxiously.

Ulrich hesitated. If he said yes, he would upset Aelita even further, but if he said no, he would be lying.

Realising that his best friend was truly tormented for the first time since he had met him, Ulrich was left with no choice. "Yes." He admitted, "Odd has never been so short-tempered about anything. He's always finding good in everything and now he's depressed. Did you know he went into a rage simply because the vending machine broke on him earlier?"

Aelita's eyes widened, "What?"

"Yeah, he kicked it really hard then went storming off into the cafeteria." Ulrich elaborated. "Then he threw a fit at us just because we tried talking to him."

Aelita sighed.

No-one spoke for a moment. Ulrich was looking intently at Aelita, who in turn was staring at the ground. "Anyway," Ulrich said after a few seconds, "When did you notice something was up?"

Aelita sucked in a mouthful of air through her teeth before looking back up at the brunette. "Earlier Odd came into my room. He didn't look too good so I asked him what was wrong; he seemed really scared about something. He was going to say something but panicked and ran out of the room."

This all came out very quickly and it took Ulrich a few seconds to process what Aelita had said. "He came to ask you for something?" He questioned.

"Yes, but I don't know why. I checked in your room for him before I came down to the cafeteria, but he wasn't there. When did you last see him?" Aelita asked.

"Well, he stormed out of the cafeteria after having a go at us, and went into the dorm building. I can only guess he went up to see you." Ulrich explained.

The petite girl, still confused towards the actions of the blonde, asked "Then where has he gone?"

"I dunno." Ulrich shrugged. "But if we want to find out, we need to ask around. Talk to Jeremie, see if he has noticed something about Odd, or if he knows where he's gone." The brunette directed.

"Ok, what are you going to do?"

"I'll talk to..." Ulrich paused, thinking, "Milly and Tamiya, they might know what's up. But right now I promised Yumi I'd go to the movies with her."

Aelita looked down at the ground again. "Oh, ok." she said sombrely.

"What's wrong, Aelita?"

"It's just; I don't want Odd to get into any trouble." She sighed.

Ulrich put a hand on Aelita's shoulder, comforting her. "Aelita, don't worry, he'll be alright. He always is."

* * *

"Have fun, you guys!" A bespectacled boy called out towards his friends. Both the brunette and the black haired person waved at him then turned and walked out through the wrought iron gates.

The boy behind the glasses was Jeremie Belpois, 9th grader at Kadic Academy. Tousled blonde hair, azure blue eyes and an intelligent aura about him, he waved off his friends Ulrich Stern and Yumi Ishiyama as they departed for the cinema to watch a romance/horror-esque production by some obscure director. He glanced to his right to see his best friend, Aelita, waving too, but the smile was not there. He didn't get too concerned however, _"she probably just tired", _he thought.

After a moment, the top scorers in Kadic turned and headed back into the heart of the school. They went up the stairs to the boys' dorm room, down the hall and through another door which entered into Jeremie's room.

In the two months since XANA's defeat, the room hadn't changed much. It was still as cramped as ever, and the familiar whirring of the computer was not present. The boy who resided in his dorm however, had dropped his antisocial ways and was more outgoing and extraverted. Yet he kept his stubborn and self-righteous persona, and still was on the lookout for the malevolent virus that stripped him of two years' childhood.

"So Aelita, I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch together. Out in town, you know." Jeremie asked.

The pinkette in question was not listening. Frown lines marked her forehead and appeared to be contemplating something.

"Aelita?" Jeremie sat down on his computer chair.

At the sound of her name, her ears perked up, and she looked at Jeremie, "Sorry, Jeremie. What was it you were saying."

Jeremie smiled, the concern gone, "Oh, I was wondering if you wanted to head into town with me for lunch."

Jeremie felt slightly downcast when no smile broke out at his offer. He involuntarily cracked his knuckles at the awkward situation that arose.

"Jeremie," Aelita mumbled, "Have you noticed something off about Odd?"

The blonde was taken aback at the sudden change of topic. But this question made him think. _Had there been something off about Odd? He didn't hang around me or Aelita as much anymore. But he seems just like that everyday idiot he was when I first met him._

"No, not really," The boy replied, "Why? Has he done something?"

Aelita fidgeted in her chair, "Well, no. He just seems, well... He just seems a little down, don't you think?"

"Well, no," The prep shrugged, "He's been the same around me."

Jeremie sat down in his computer chair, staring at the wall in thought for a moment, "Why are you so concerned about him anyway? I mean, it's only Odd." He enquired, in a tone that sounded almost accusatory.

Aelita, who was sitting on Jeremie's bed before, stood up and stared at him, her features filled with anger that Jeremie had only seen once before, "Because that was friends are for!" She yelled, "They be concerned for their friends so their friends can stay happy!"

She left the room, slamming the door behind her. Jeremie stayed in his chair, perplexed. For almost a whole minute, the only sound that could be heard was the bespectacled boy's quiet breathing. Then, the blonde swivelled his computer chair around and pressed the power button to his computer.

"Girls," he muttered to himself, "I'll never understand them and I don't think there is a program to either."

* * *

It was drawing close to eight o'clock in the evening when Ulrich returned alone from town. He was euphoric; his day out with Yumi could not have gone better. After watching the movie, which was a total flop in his opinion, they had headed to a fast food restaurant. Whilst walking the few kilometres there, they had each took turns making snide comments about their teachers, causing the other to laugh. After eating, they split up heading to their different homes, but not before Yumi had kissed him on the cheek.

Despite eating only a few hours before, Ulrich's stomach growled, so he made way to the cafeteria. Walking in, he saw Aelita sitting alone at their usual table, glaring at her last few potatoes. The brunette walked over to her and sat down, still grinning from before. Aelita looked up at him and saw the gleeful expression on his face. "Someone is in a good mood," she remarked, "Did that someone have a romantic day out with a certain Japanese lover." This caused Ulrich to blush, but he wouldn't let her wipe the grin off his face that easily.

"Like you wouldn't believe. I had a great day." He smirked.

"Well," the pinkette sighed, "That makes one of us."

"What happened?"

"Let's just say I got into a small fight with a certain, glasses-wearing boy."

"Oh, really?" Ulrich asked, "What about?"

Aelita pushed her still unfinished food away from her, and looked up at Ulrich, "Well," she said again, "After you left, we went up to Jeremie's room. He asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with him," she explained.

"And?" Ulrich prompted.

"I'm getting to it," she replied exasperatedly, "As I said, he asked me to go out to lunch with him. But I didn't answer at first. I asked him about Odd, like you told me to. He said he didn't notice anything different about him. But then he asked why I cared so much about him, because it was," she raised two fingers in a quote position, "_'just Odd.'_ That's when I yelled at him. Because he didn't care about Odd, he just wanted to go on a date with me."

By the time the story was over, Ulrich had raised one eyebrow, "Wow, that self-centred still."

"Yes." Aelita confirmed.

Ulrich shrugged, "He'll come around Aelita, don't worry. Speaking of which have you seen Odd yet?" the brunette asked.

Aelita gasped, and put a hand around her mouth. "Oh my god! I forgot to look for him. It's just, I was angry at Jeremie, ugh. I'm so selfish!" she cried.

"That's fine Aelita." Ulrich smiled, "But have you though?"

Aelita's frustration subsided, and she gave Ulrich a sad look, "No, I'm sorry. But it's like you said, he'll turn up sooner or later."

"Yeah, I guess."

* * *

Ulrich was pacing up and down his room, worried. The alarm clock by his bed had the time "11:41" written in bright, red letters. There had still been no sign of Odd. Ulrich was just starting to consider that Odd wouldn't return at all that night when the door to his room opened.

There stood Odd. His clothes were covered in mud and there were small rips in them. His face was worse for wear though. Tiny cuts were scattered up his left cheek and his hair had fallen from its point and now was matted and dirty. Ulrich stared at the near-unrecognizable boy, his mouth agape.

"Odd! Where in hell have you been?" He yelled angrily.

Odd stood there, looking at Ulrich dead in the eye, "Out," He simply stated.

Without getting changed, without even taking off his shoes, Odd climbed into bed. Ulrich's anger was replaced with sympathy for the boy the resided across from him. _I'll speak to him tomorrow. _He thought, before climbing into bed himself, and switching off the light.

When Ulrich Stern woke the following day, he rolled over to find the bed across from him deserted.

* * *

**A/n OOooooooohhhh cliffhanger! (kind of)**

**Thanks so much for the reviews last chapter, loved reading your thoughts on this!**

**Don't forget to review and keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter.**

**\- BreadLoaf**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

He needed another day to himself. Once again left to his own thoughts. After fleeing from Aelita's room yesterday, Odd ran deep into the forest. After running out of breath, he stopped and bent over. Once recovered, he became fully aware of the bitter cold and shivered violently, teeth now chattering. Got to get shelter somewhere.

Doing the same as yesterday, Odd grabbed minimal breakfast before scurrying off into the trees and headed towards the one place he could be alone. The Hermitage. He was wary of the small rock near the front of the abandoned house this time after falling and scraping his face and arms the previous day.

After the short walk through the trees, the cool breeze once again making him shiver, he went through the semi-attached front door of the house. It wasn't much warmer inside because of all the smashed windows, but it still stopped the wind.

When he first arrived at the house yesterday, the Italian had flopped onto the dusty couch and remained there, staring at the cobweb-covered roof for hours, thinking about nothing. Today was a different story, however. The blonde had felt guilty of using the house as a hideaway, and had decided to clean it to the best of his ability. He searched the house for cleaning supplies and found outdated polish, a mop that had been damaged beyond use and a broom, that while still functional, had half of the bristles ripped out. Nevertheless, he got to work. By midday, he had removed most of the rubbish from the living room and dining room floors and had begun work on the stairway. Thirst was getting to him, and by mid-afternoon he could continue no longer. He searched the cupboards and found a slightly chipped glass amongst shards. The tap in the kitchen didn't grant him with water, so he resorted to the outside tap next to the sewer that he once nearly drowned in.

Stepping back inside, Odd had saw how minimal of an effect he had done to begin restoring the house, and anger overtook him. He threw the glass which smashed against the wall, sending fragments flying. Dropping to his knees, the blonde broke out in tears, sobs racked his body and he keeled over and laid down. Glass scratched at his face, but he did not care. The once happy, carefree boy cried himself to sleep for the first time in his life.

* * *

Despite the sun now well set, loud voices could still be heard throughout the dorm building of Kadic Academy. Though muffled voices as they were, some words could be picked out by the fellow students. Needless to say, however, was that the voices were coming from Ulrich Stern's and Odd Della Robbia's room.

"He wasn't at classes today, he hardly was here yesterday, he looks absolutely terrible and according to Rosa he had hardly any food from the cafeteria. Yet you still expect me to think this is because of some girl, Jeremie?"

"No Ulrich, I'm not expecting you to think that, you should have already worked that out for yourself!"

"What the fu-"

It was at this point that Jeremie and Ulrich's petty argument was interrupted by another voice, a girl's voice. Stern and solemn, Yumi yelled "Shut the hell up! Both of you, right now!"

Both blonde and brunette stared at Yumi, mouth agape and well taken aback. "Don't say anything. Just sit down." The geisha continued in a quieter voice, "Now, until I've finished talking, I don't want to hear a word out of either of you."

Ulrich and Jeremie sat down silently on the taller boy's bed, still perplexed. Yumi gave a small smile to Aelita who was sitting on Odd's bed, knees brought up to her chest and stroking Kiwi. Aelita was still too shocked herself at the outburst to return the smile, however.

"Now," Yumi began, "I know that Odd has not been at classes today, and wasn't seen after breakfast yesterday until midnight. But that doesn't mean anything. Jeremie could be right; it might very well be girl problems. Don't say anything!" The raven-haired girl gave a warning look at Ulrich, who was just about to say something, but closed his mouth quickly. Yumi recomposed herself, and then spoke again.

"As I was saying, it could be girl problems, but I doubt it. I have never seen Odd so unhappy, girl problems or not. This is something bigger in my opinion and we are not going to get anywhere by yelling our heads off at each other. What we need to do is talk to Odd, ask him what's wrong. We're his friends, he'll tell us. If it's a problem we can fix, then we'll fix it. If it's not, then we'll be there for him until it is."

"Agreed," Aelita spoke up.

"I guess." Jeremie said half-heartedly.

They turned to Ulrich, who was looking at Yumi with a mix of annoyance and respect, "Sure," the brunette decided.

A minute passed in silence before Jeremie stood up, "Right, well, I'm going to my room. It's been a busy day and I have lots of homework to get done."

Adjusting his glasses, Jeremie went to the door. But before he could open it, the handle turned and the door swung wide to reveal Odd.

Aelita and Yumi gasped at what they saw. "Oh god," Ulrich breathed quietly. Jeremie just stood and stared.

Odd looked better than yesterday; he had showered himself, and was no longer covered in mud and dirt. But his clothes, which he hadn't changed from yesterday, were still covered in small rips and his arms and legs were speckled with small grazes and cuts.

"Odd! What have you done to yourself?" Aelita exclaimed, standing up.

The blonde in question turned to look at Aelita, his hair was still down, and Aelita could make out faint bags under his eyes. Odd attempted to smile at her, but it turned into a grimace as it stretched the numerous cuts on his face. He didn't respond, just walked over to his bed and laid down. He looked at Jeremie and Yumi before resting his gaze on Ulrich.

"I'm hungry; can you get me some food?" Odd said. His voice was weak, and had none of the energy that it usually did.

"Uh, sure," Ulrich replied. Odd rolled over and faced the wall, so he didn't have to look at anyone. All four listened to Odd's breathing as it slowed. Within moments he was presumably asleep.

"I'll leave you to it." Yumi told Ulrich, "C'mon, Jeremie."

The bespectacled boy turned to Aelita, "You coming?"

Aelita shook her head, "No, I need to speak with Ulrich for a moment."

Jeremie shrugged, adjusted his glasses and left the room. Aelita walked over to Ulrich, and sat down next to him. They both sat and stared at Odd as his chest rose and fell with the steady rhythm of his breathing. Ulrich turned to look at Aelita, and saw that there were tears in her eyes. Without asking, Ulrich put an arm around her, and the pinkette leaned into him, the tears falling freely now.

"Look what he's doing to himself." Aelita mumbled, "We need to help him, before he gets even worse."

"I know Aelita. We need to make a plan, before he vanishes on us again."

The girl looked up at him, the tears no longer. "I've got an idea, but it might not even work."

"It's got to; otherwise I don't know what we can do."

Aelita sat up, and Ulrich removed his arm from around her. They started throwing ideas around and within ten minutes, had a plan ready.

* * *

This was not how Odd Della Robbia had planned for his morning to go; he wanted to head back to the hermitage, where he could continue work on the house. However, even though the sun hadn't broken the horizon, Odd walked into the just opened cafeteria to grab breakfast before heading off and saw William Dunbar, a fellow Lyoko Warrior, sitting alone at a table in the far corner. _Strange. I haven't really seen Will out of class since we destroyed XANA_. Collecting a various group of foods from the counter, Odd sat on the other side of the table where the raven-haired boy was. William wasn't even aware of Odd, his eyes wide open and unblinking, mumbling indistinguishable words to himself.

"William?" The younger boy asked. No response.

"Will, can you hear me." Odd leant a bit closer to the unaware boy.

The Scot remained the way he was for a second more, before jumping and returning to his surroundings. "What do you want, Della Robbia?" He spat maliciously.

Odd was taken aback, "I was just wondering why you were up so early."

William tensed up, his teeth were gritted, "None of your business. Go away."

The blonde stood and walked to the other side of the room before the situation escalated to something far worse. William's never been the same since XANA. It's too late to fix it now.

Odd mentally cursed at himself at that point as he was so self-absorbed in concern for William that he ran straight into the last person he wanted to see. Aelita. Dread filled him as her green eyes met his.

"Odd, good I caught you," she said in a dangerous tone that caused the blonde to recoil slightly. "Care to sit down with me?" The pinkette commanded rather than asked.  
Against his better judgement, he groaned and sunk into the nearest seat.  
Aelita smiled dangerously and sat opposite to him, "Now, how are you?" She asked.

Odd picked up his croissant with the intent of ignoring her but she pushed his hand back onto his tray, "How are you?"

A slight chill went through the blonde from the anger layered into her voice. "Err... good."

"Don't lie, Odd."

Odd physically shivered as her hand tightened around his, "Fine," he sighed, "not that good," he admitted.

Aelita's grip slackened, and she withdrew her hand. Odd could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes and was flooded with guilt. He swallowed, "I'm sorry."

"What have you been doing to yourself?" Aelita asked, the anger still there, but now tinged with sadness, "Why aren't you happy?"

Odd blinked, shocked at how upset she was getting over him being unhappy. He would have to tell her the truth because of how guilty he felt. "Um... well, it's because of everything, really."

Aelita stared at him, confused. "E- Everything? How can everything make you unhappy."

"Because I'm worthless, that's why!"

* * *

**A/N Ok, I am the laziest author on the damn planet. But don't hate me, ok. I've gotten back into the writing mood. Here's chapter three in all its glory and especially, lateness.**

**-BL**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_He didn't know how to react. Happy? Sad? Angry._

_This was it for him. He was no longer a hero; the war was over. He was nothing now, just that annoying kid who barely passed any classes. Half the school hated him, though he supposed that was his fault, he never could hold a girlfriend for longer than a week before he got bored and moved onto the next one._

_What was he useful for? He often pondered that question late at night, when everyone else was asleep. Did anyone even need him, anymore?_

_It had been two months now and nothing had happened in his life. Nothing._

* * *

"Don't you dare run. Sit down, now."

Odd couldn't run even if he wanted to, Ulrich had appeared at the door and forced him back into the cafeteria before he could barely take one step out. Ulrich kept a firm grasp on his arm and walked him back to Aelita, who was standing up. Tears in her eyes, she managed a watery thanks to Ulrich.

Ulrich smiled at Aelita before facing Odd, "Now, Odd. You are going to sit down, and we are going to talk about this. You're not running off until _both _Aelita and I are satisfied. Got it?"

He didn't wait for an answer, just pushed the blonde by his shoulders into the seat. Aelita sat too while Ulrich remained standing in case the Italian tried to run again. "Go ahead Aelita," he prompted, "I'll catch him if he goes."

Odd's face flushed red, "You can't just keep me here like this."

Ulrich grabbed Odd's shoulder tightly and bent down so his mouth was right next to the blonde's ear, "Yes I can and I will. You've been making everyone scared and upset these past few days and not explaining why. Until I'm happy, you're not leaving."

Odd jerked out of Ulrich's grasp and stared resolutely at the table in front of him. It was Aelita's turn to have her say now, "Odd, I just don't get it. You're normal and yourself for months, but in less than a week you start disappearing causing us all to be worried. We've had to cover for you in class and Ulrich's had to deal with Jim. You come back to Kadic in the middle of the night looking as you've been mugged or something. What is wrong with you?"

The pinkette's voice had lost its quaver now, and anger was seeping into her words, causing Odd to look at her fearfully. He knew Aelita was dangerous when she was angry, and he knew not to make things worse. But he couldn't tell the truth, not with Ulrich here.

"I… don't know, Aelita."

This was the wrong response to make. Aelita's nostrils flared and she clenched her fists, her knuckles shining white, "You don't know, Odd, huh. Don't lie to me. I had to stay up for hours last night to make sure you didn't run off again. If you don't know, you could at least tell us you've been feeling bad, not just ditch. No, Odd. You know _exactly _what's bothering you, and you're not leaving until I know and trust me, I'll know if you're lying."

"Well, Aelita," Odd retorted, angry too now, "I'd love to tell, I really would. It would be an honour to let the all great _princess _know."

"Watch it, Odd." Ulrich warned as Aelita flushed at the cruel use of her nickname, but recovered quickly, "Then tell me," She ordered.

Odd was taken aback, he wasn't expecting that. He was expecting her to shut up and give up on him. He felt the rage leave his body as quickly as it came, and he sank in his chair. The pinkette noticed and hesitated for a moment, but wasn't deterred, "Go on, then."

He lent forward, and whispered something that Aelita could barely make out, "Only if Ulrich leaves, I only want you to know."

Aelita nodded and looked up, "Ulrich, could you go and stand by the door please. Odd wants to tell me something in private."

Ulrich hesitated for a moment, but nodded, eyes still fixed on Odd as he walked away.

"Ok, Odd, he's gone," Aelita stated, "Now, what's made you so upset?"

Odd sighed, there was no point holding this back anymore; it was causing too much grief for his friends, especially Aelita. "I guess I should say that this all started after we defeated XANA."

"Two months, that long?" Aelita gasped.

"Yeah," Odd sighed again, "Going to Lyoko and fighting XANA was and still is the only interesting thing in my life. I feel as if with that now taken away, with XANA dead, that I'm useless."

"Odd, don't ever say that." Aelita interjected, "It's not even true."

"Isn't it Aelita?" Odd asked, "I'm terrible in every subject except for art, but it's not like that's gonna take me anywhere. I'm not saving the world anymore like we used to. Basically all the girls in the school except you and Yumi hate me because I kept cheating. Some of the guys dislike me because of the pranks I pull and I have no one in my life like Ulrich does with Yumi and you do with Jeremie."

Aelita had began to tear up again but gave an almost mirthless laugh at that last part.

Odd looked at her, confused, "What's so funny?"

Aelita rolled her eyes, "I have Jeremie? Odd, the only thing that was the truth in that big speech was Ulrich having Yumi."

"What do you mean?" The blonde replied.

Aelita smiled again, "The only thing that 'has' Jeremie is his computer, which he's still overly-obsessed with. I've began to realize recently that Jeremie is a rude, insensitive and the most introverted person I've met."

"B- but, Jeremie's a nice guy."

Aelita gave another mirthless laugh, "If you had spent all that time working on programs with him, you'd know that I was right. When I first met him he was nice, but that was because I was the only girl that would talk to him. Now he just ignores me until he's ready. And did you know that the last few days you've been missing," Aelita's voice had gone deadly again, "He didn't even care. He thought you were just having girl problems and were being a whiny baby."

Odd's eyes widened, "What? That's not like Jeremie."

"Oh, it is." Aelita shrugged, "But I don't care. Next time he wants to go out with me, the answer is no."

Odd grinned for the first time in weeks, "Wow, Aelita, I don't know what's changed with you, but I like it."

She grinned back, "I think I've finally realized I don't owe him anymore. He may have freed me from the computer, given me my life back. But he sure hasn't let me _live _it."

"That's true," Odd chuckled before realizing how much of a idiot he had been himself over the past few days.

"Look, Aelita, I'm sorry. For everything. I shouldn't have put you through this and I've been a total jerk these last few days keeping you and the other guys all worried."

Aelita gave a solemn look in Ulrich's direction over by the door, which he returned, eyes unmoving from where Odd was sitting, "I just don't get it Odd, it's not like you to be so secretive about it. But at least we know why now. I just want to know where you've been going."

"The Hermitage." Odd shrugged, and Aelita gave a look of mingled surprise and shock.

"Why there? Is that where you got all those injuries?"

Odd nodded, "I've been trying to tidy up the place but not much luck, this one," the blonde gestured to the large one on the inside of his hand which caused Aelita to gasp at, "was yesterday. I got angry at doing so little in a day I threw a glass and it cut me as I tried to clean it up."

"You've got to get that cleaned before it becomes infected." Aelita warned.

"I will, I will. Can you promise not to tell Ulrich what I've told you?" The blonde asked.

Aelita narrowed his eyes at him, "Why?"

Odd shrugged, "I'm just not ready for him to know, yet. I can trust you, you're my best friend. He'll never let me out of his sight if he knew."

Aelita pondered his request for a moment. She had made him tell the truth, there was no doubt about that, but she didn't want him running off again and coming back worse and worse every day. She sighed, "Only if you promise not to go running off again."

"I can't promise that, Aelita," Odd repudiated, "If I get upset, I need to go somewhere where I can be alone."

Aelita glared at him, but knew he was right. "Fine, only if you tell me or Ulrich first. We need to know that you're going so no-one worries. Agreed?" Aelita held out her hand.

Odd thought about it for a second, before taking her hand in his, "Agreed."

Aelita waved at Ulrich, signalling for the brunette to come back over. He smiled at her, which she returned fully. "Odd and I have spoken and he has told me what the issue is. He doesn't want for you to know just yet." She addressed Ulrich, "When he's ready, he'll tell you. We've also agreed that if things get too bad he can go back to his… hideout, but he has to tell one of us first. That sound good to you."

Ulrich glanced at Odd, who was watching him to see his reaction. Even though his jaw was firmly set, he nodded, before turning to Odd, "Just know that you can always talk to us, kay buddy?" He said calmly.

Odd shrugged, "Ok."

Ulrich patted him on the back, "Now, c'mon, you need a shower and a change of clothes."

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, Odd attended all his classes, now clean. He even smiled when his art teacher said he was glad to have him back. Aelita, who shared all the same classes as Odd kept a close eye on him all day under Ulrich's instruction. Her day couldn't have been better until the bell signalling for the end of the afternoon classes rang. Ulrich, Jeremie, Odd and Aelita all had maths last on a Tuesday, so as they all made their way out, Jeremie pulled Aelita aside. "Aelita, I was wondering if you wanted to come to town with me later. A new series of motherboard has been released and I thought you might want to check it out."

_This is it, _Aelita thought to herself, _time to put my foot down. _She took a deep breath, and turned to Jeremie, a cold look in her eye, "Sorry Jeremie, but I'm going to have to decline."

"W- what?" The nerd stuttered.

"You seem to think that the only things I am interested in are the things that you are interested in, and quite frankly, you couldn't be further from the truth."

Jeremie looked shocked and hurt, but Aelita continued, "Also, the last few days our friend has needed help, and you don't care. I'm sorry, but I don't want to be in a relationship with someone who only cares about himself."

And she walked out, leaving Jeremie frozen on the spot.

* * *

**I did it guys, and ahead of schedule too. Don't think this story is coming to a close soon, Odd isn't out of the water yet. And that last scene is a small foreshadow of what's to come.**

**Once again I apologize for my long bout of absence, but I'm back now, and with luck there should be one or two more chapters coming out in the next two weeks. I'm signing off here though as it's getting quite late.**

**Thanks for reading. And don't forget to leave a review, did ya like the chapter? Did ya not? Did ya miss me? I'd love to hear what you think.**

**With crumbs,**

**\- BreadLoaf**


	5. Chapter 5

**A big list of thanks to everyone who has reviewed: DeathLivE, toastedCroissants, CodeDxD, MusicLover1997, 1upDawg, Miss Lib93, plantsIluv, xXPersonOfInterestXx, MeechiesQueen, jubilee loves pyro, shinxshinx1595, UndecidedGentleman, spacebunny1124, girl-of-the-wolves, RascalKat**

**And lastly, Undeadmonkey8, who has been the amazing beta reader for this story and a great friend.**

_He fell out of the scanner, the cold metal floor greeting him hard. But he had no time to recover, though. He had to run. It was game over, fight or flight. He chose flight. The others were safe and out of the supercomputer, probably up in the higher levels of the factory by now. He ran to the elevator and hit the call button. He tapped his foot impatiently as it came down. The doors had barely opened before the desired floor button was pressed and the elevator began its steady ascent back._

_"Hurry up." He growled irately at the old machinery._

_The doors opened. He screamed. They were held there, black smoke gripping their throats. Choking them._

_He searched for the hazel brown eyes of his best friend. Anger and… pity was was he found in them, "This…" Ulrich choked, "This is your fault."_

_His eyes rolled back into his head, and the smoke relinquished, dropping him onto the floor, where he lay unmoving._

_"Your fault, Odd." Yumi crumpled to the ground as well._

_"Your fault." Jeremie slumped and fell from his chair._

_Aelita's eyes were full of regret and pain, "YOUR FAULT."_

He jerked awake, cold sweats covering his body. He leapt out of the covers, heart racing fast. He flicked on the lightswitch, but saw that Ulrich was laying in his bed peacefully, no worries, pain or stress on his face. Odd didn't feel the same though. That dream was real. To him at least. He had failed, once again. He was useless.

_Don't ever say that, Odd._

The familiar sweetness of Aelita's voice chimed in his head, and he calmed. His breaths slowed down to a more normal pace, the colour returning to his skin. He flicked the light off again and made his slow way back to his pillow. The moment he crashed back onto it, he fell asleep again.

Useless. The last word that crossed his conscious mind.

* * *

_Sunday…_

Ulrich woke up to the view of sunlight streaming in through the gap of the curtains. He rolled over and was relieved to see Odd laying on his bed, with his sheets anywhere but. _At least that hasn't changed._

The brunette had been feeling quite confident about himself the last few days, especially after the successful movie outing with Yumi. He wanted to ask her to go out with him again, see if he could take another step in their relationship. The problem was, he had no idea what to do.

Ulrich considered asking Odd for ideas, but the blonde would make fun of him finally getting up the courage to ask Yumi out, so he wondered who else he could ask. Aelita might know, as she and Yumi had talked many-a-time about guy problems, but she was probably sleeping right now.

With no other options (Jeremie wouldn't be helpful what-so-ever), he decided to ad-hoc it and hope for the best. Perhaps take her for a walk down the Seine and stop for lunch somewhere nice. He knew she'd like it. It was casual, not overdoing and was fairly romantic in a way.

Pressing the number 1 key on his phone, he speed-dialled her, taking a deep breath to calm his building nerves.

* * *

He admired many things about Yumi, but he completely adored her laugh. It was that perfect balance of volume, pitch and length. At every little joke he made she would grin and let out that beautiful sound. His plan had gone perfect so far. After lunch(which was much better than the fast food restaurant), he and Yumi had made their way to an ice-cream parlour which was apparently the best in this part of the city. Upon tasting the chocolate flavour he could confirm it for himself. Yumi had got herself the lemon sorbet and her eyes widened upon her first lick. "Oh my god. Oh my… This is amazing."

"Mmm." Ulrich agreed, ice cream in his mouth.

They walked in silence, licking away at their cone until Ulrich spotted a bench that overlooked the river. He led Yumi over to it and they sat. A couple of minutes passed in silence before Yumi saw Ulrich staring at the ground, lost in thought. "You okay, Ulrich?"

The brunette looked up, smiling slightly, "Just thinking about Odd."

"You're really concerned for him, aren't you?"

He sighed, "Yeah, Aelita and I spoke to him yesterday, as you know, but I just think that he might snap sometime."

Yumi blinked, slightly confused, "Do you know what's got him down?"

"No," Ulrich muttered, "Aelita wouldn't tell me, she promised Odd not to. She said that Odd will let me know when he's ready."

They returned to silence, finishing their ice creams. Yumi wondered why Odd didn't want to tell Ulrich why he was upset. _They're best friends, aren't they._ She thought of perhaps asking Aelita if she could help with Odd. In fact, Aelita had been in a strange mood yesterday; she seemed to be in a good mood about something, but the Japanese girl knew it couldn't be Odd. It was… weird, to put it simply.

Yumi was pulled out of her thoughts when she saw Ulrich staring not at the ground, but at something down the river. Noticing that Yumi was watching him, Ulrich spoke, "Do you ever miss it?"

"Miss what?" Following Ulrich's gaze, she looked down the river and saw what he was staring at. There, in the middle of the Seine, was the factory, standing silent, abandoned as always. "Oh."

Images of Lyoko, her life for two years, ran through her mind in quick succession. She remembered how good it felt to beat XANA time and time again, how good it was to save the world. "Yeah. Sometimes. You?" The Japanese girl shrugged.

Ulrich shrugged too, "A bit. All the fun times we had at the factory, especially when XANA wasn't attacking."

He smiled at Yumi, who gulped. _Not that smile._ She loved it when he did that smile, he was so happy, worry-free, when he did that smile. _And handsome._ She visibly blushed, which Ulrich spotted, "I say something?" he grinned.

Yumi laughed. An idea crossed her mind, and she grinned back, "C'mon," the geisha grabbed his hand, pulling him up off the bench.

The male's grin turn to a look of perplexion, "Where are we going?"

Yumi didn't stop to explain, just running along, with Ulrich behind trying to keep up. After a minute she slowed to a walk at an all too familiar bridge.

Turning to the brunette, she put her hand in his. It was Ulrich's turn to blush. Yumi smiled, "Let's go for a trip down memory lane."

* * *

_A few hours earlier…_

Odd hissed as the hot shower water washed over his numerous cuts and scrapes, stinging. He was tired after another night of restless sleep. He'd been waking up at the crack of dawn when the rest of school was asleep. To not concern Ulrich, he had faked being asleep when he woke up. He almost started sniggering, however, when he heard his roommate place a call to Yumi.

He waited until Ulrich had showered, returned for his last few things and left once more before dropping the act and jumping out of bed, doing his own morning routine. Kiwi yipped at him, obviously wanting food, "When I get back, eh Kiwi." he said, petting the dog.

The blonde jumped from the shower as a heavy stream of water passed over the large cut on his hand and swore to himself. He eased his way back into the shower, tentative as he did. The Italian had been neglecting personal hygiene these past few days; wearing the same clothes twice and one very quick cold shower.

Odd had been ignoring his friends in class, instead focused on the board and paying attention to the teacher. Ulrich had attempted to talk to him on Thursday night, but Odd just ignored him and got into bed.

Getting out of the shower, Odd grabbed his towel and to dried his hair. He left it down though, reasoning that the Lyoko style was for Lyoko and because he had ran out of hair gel last week and not bothered to get any more.. The blonde stared at his reflection in the dirty mirror for a moment before wrapping his towel around him and returning to his dorm.

The second he opened the door Kiwi began bounding up at him. "Okay, okay, I'll get your food, diggity dog."

As Odd poured the food into the bowl, he began thinking about how long a week it had been for him. The blonde felt stupid for running from his problems except facing them and about how much sleep he had lost. In the past five days he had only had about two nights worth of sleep thanks to his night terrors. Putting the dog bowl down, a wave of fatigue hit Odd hard. He stumbled as he stood back up, his vision blacked out for a second.

Odd made his way to the door and locked it. He walked over to his bed and flopped onto it, blinks getting longer and longer. He didn't want to sleep, but it was so warm with the morning sun pouring in through the window. Kiwi, who had finished his meal in a mere minute hopped up onto his lap. Odd gave in to his body's need and let sleep take him.

* * *

With her homework finished, Aelita stretched in her seat. The pinkette had spent the better part of the morning working on assignments due for class. She hadn't seen any of her friends this morning. Ulrich had texted her that he would be spending the day out with Yumi, to which she responded, _"Alright, lovebird XD"_.

However, this meant that she alone had to keep a watchful eye on Odd, who she hadn't seen at breakfast this morning. She wasn't too worried, Odd had skipped a few meals over the last few days, but he was getting better. The blonde hadn't ran off, which was a positive sign but he had been turning the cold shoulder whenever she, Yumi or Ulrich tried to talk to him.

The beep of her alarm drew her attention to the time, which read as one in the afternoon. Lunchtime. Spinning her chair around, Aelita stood, grabbed her favourite hoodie and bag, flicking her lightswitch on her way out.

Aelita sat in silence, unaccompanied at a corner table eating her food. Odd still hadn't arrived, and she hoped he would as it would had meant he hadn't run off without saying and he would provide some good conversation with her (if he would talk to her for once).

But the Italian never arrived, even after Aelita waited for ten minutes once she finished her lunch. The pinkette began to get a little worried, thinking the worst may have happened. But then again he could just be in his room, doing whatever, Aelita reasoned with herself.

Heading up the dorm room steps, Aelita reached the door with the small O &amp; U drawn in the top-right corner. Ulrich and Odd hardly ever bothered to lock the door, so Aelita frowned slightly as the handle resisted her push. Fortunately, Ulrich had given Aelita his spare key in case of an emergency, and she had carried it in her bag ever since. Pulling it out and inserting it into the hole, Aelita cracked open the door, and poked her head through to see if anyone was in. At first, she saw no-one, and was about to close it behind her when she heard a soft snoring from behind the door. She took another step in and saw Odd, sitting in bed, fast asleep. His arms were sprawled in different directions, and his head was slightly tilted forward. _At four in the afternoon Odd, really?_

The pinkette noticed that Odd was completely peaceful as he slept, no worries or pain or stress. Nothing. He was in Nirvana, and as Aelita watched, she couldn't help but feel a little envious. Her nightmares showed no sign of getting better, despite XANA's death, and even though she knew what Odd was going on right now, his sleep was undisturbed.

A strange feeling came over the girl. She couldn't place what it was, but she had the sudden impulse to join the blonde in his slumber. It felt strange, but only fine to do it, and it looked so comfortable. She just wanted to rest against him. _It's not like he would mind, he's asleep_, Aelita reasoned with herself.

Putting her back onto the ground quietly as to not wake him, the pinkette slowly sat next to the sleeping boy. She lifted both her legs onto the bed. After a moment of hesitation, she lent back. _He's so warm._ She immediately felt drowsiness wash over her. The girl rested her head against Odd's chest, and noted how it supported her quite well. She let her eyes close, not wanting a moment like this to end.

She slept soundly, no dreams or nightmares to disturb her.

It was only hours later, when Aelita woke up, did she regret making this decision. She opened her eyes slowly, and peered up at Odd, who was still asleep. Somehow, the blonde's arm found its way around her, making it impossible to get out of bed without waking him up.

She didn't mind too much initially, it was very comfortable and it wasn't as if she was doing anything wrong. Besides, Odd wasn't stirring, so unless she woke him up, Aelita doubted Odd would return to the land of consciousness anytime soon.

"Good sleep?" Ulrich's voice came from across the room.

The pinkette froze, her blood running cold.

* * *

A/N Bahaha cliffhanger. What comes next, you'll have to wait. In the meantime, leave a review on what you thought of the chapter(it makes me type faster). I only have one last week of exams before school is over for the year and you'll get plenty of updates.

Also, I'll be replying to reviews now because I want to communicate with you guys more than a writer/reader exchange. You're free to message me anytime, I'm sure to respond reasonably soon.

Thanks for reading! :D

With butter and jam,

BreadLoaf


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm done with promises. This writers block is ridiculously torturous. Either way I feel like naming chapters from now on. Thanks a bunch to MeechiesQueen, Raiden Tachibana, Ninjapanda15, Nightfrightpony, Eddie Blake, Miss Lib93, JackyJack, Code DxD and Undeadmonkey8(also for being an amazing beta reader) for reviewing. You guys are all great!**

**Chapter Six - Boy Talk, Girl Talk**

Aelita stayed frozen, trying as hard as she could not to wake Odd up, "Ulrich, help me," she pleaded.

The brunette chuckled, "Why?"

"Because I'm asking you to." Aelita snapped back. _This isn't funny. Not one bit._

Ulrich laughed again, "You got yourself stuck there."

The pinkette felt panic build inside her. The situation was getting to the point where very bad things were about to happen. The worse part was that she didn't know what those bad things were.

For the German, what he had walked in on after dinner was nothing short of pure hilarity. It only got funnier as Aelita woke up as well. Wiping a small tear of mirth from his eye, he got up and walked over. Ulrich bent low and spoke quietly to Aelita, "Now, I'm going to shout very loudly and scare Odd awake. As I do, hop up. With any luck, he shouldn't know what went on. Ok?"

Aelita didn't speak back, she gave a small nod.

"Alright. On the count of three. One. Two…"

As he hit three, Ulrich shouted his roommate's name loudly and gave the blonde a hard push towards the wall. Aelita scrambled from his grasp as Odd flailed on the bed eyes wide and confused. "What the hell was that for?" The Italian shouted while Aelita giggled at how flustered he was.

"You've been asleep all day." Ulrich replied calmly, "Have you eaten anything?"

Odd flushed red, "Uhm… yeah."

The blonde attempt at a lie may have been successful if it weren't at that moment for the inconvenient groan emanating from his stomach. Ulrich rolled his eyes, "Rosa's closing up in ten minutes. If you run you can make it."

"Oh, sweet. Thanks buddy."

A pang of hunger made Aelita remember that she too had skipped dinner, and she leapt up after him. "I'm coming too."

Odd furrowed his brow, "Did you not have dinner?"

"Wasn't hungry." Aelita lied quickly, glancing at Ulrich, who smirked. Odd looked between the two, confused for a moment, but shrugged it off.

* * *

Cold food wasn't as satisfying as the Italian had hoped, but nevertheless it was filling. Stretching out on his bed, the blonde realized the mistake of sleeping all day. Curfew was hours ago and the Odd remained wide-eyed and not tired at all. He stared at Ulrich's poster on the opposite wall where moonlight shone on it through the gap of the curtains. He could make out Kiwi, curled up on the floor, snoozing away as always; oh how he envied his dog.

Odd's eyes drifted up to the Ulrich shaped lump on the other bed. A faint light lit up the wall near him. The blonde squinted and could make out the slight movements made by Ulrich who could only be on his phone.

He held his breath, trying to make out any sounds from the other side of the room and heard a faint tapping; the elder boy was texting someone. Curious, Odd slowly sat up and craned his head, trying to get a better look of the phone and see who it was Ulrich was texting so late.

The blonde jumped as Ulrich rolled over. In a desperate scramble to feign sleep, he alerted the brunette to his presence.

"Jesus, Odd. What are you doing?" Ulrich glared across the room.

"Uhh, nothing. Can't sleep. Wanted to see who you were texting."

The German rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. You could've asked me."

"Is it Yumi?" he asked, "How was your date today?"

Ulrich gasped, wide-eyed. "How'd you know?"

Odd raised his eyebrow, smirking. Silence filled the room as the brunette narrowed his eyes, shooting daggers at the Italian, who simply said, "Guess."

Ulrich thought for a moment, then groaned, "I'm not telling Aelita anything anymore. By tomorrow Milly and Tamiya will find out and then Sissi's gonna kill me."

"Aelita only told _me_. Don't worry, I asked." Odd chuckled, "You still didn't answer my question though. How was the date?"

"Not that it's really any of your business, but pretty good." Ulrich shrugged.

"You finally kiss her?"

"None of your business."

"C'mon, tell me."

"No."

"Ulllllrich."

"Not saying."

"Fine." Odd sulked.

In truth, once Ulrich and Yumi reached the factory, they ran around whilst reminiscing shared stories and laughing.

_When they reached the spot where they hugged each other, watching as XANA died, they stopped running. The brunette turned to face Yumi. In a moment of sheer adrenalin, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, meeting at the lips._

"_You still awake?"_

Odd's voice snapped him from his memory of the passion-filled moment. "Huh?"

The blonde's eyes bored into Ulrich's, before his mouth fell into a silent 'O'.

A lot happened in the following second. First, the German made sense of Odd's actions and panic overtook him. Next he scrambled out of bed and leapt for Odd. At this point Odd started to shout, "You kiss- " before Ulrich covered his mouth. Odd clawed at Ulrich's hand in a desperate attempt to finish his sentence, screaming indistinguishable words into it. Ulrich, being stronger, pinned the blonde's arms down.

"Finish that sentence and I will end you." Ulrich said, voice laced with danger.

Removing his hand from Odd's mouth, Ulrich rolled off of the bed onto the floor. Avoiding Odd's smirk, he stared hard at the ground, "Yes, I did. Happy now?"

"More than you would ever believe."

Ulrich sighed, "Odd?"

"Yeah?"

"Shaddup."

"I didn't say anything."

Ulrich grunted, "You were thinking it."

"I know," Odd smiled. Turning on his bedside lamp, the blonde slid off the bed and onto the floor, facing Ulrich. He clapped the German on the shoulder, and gave another trademark grin.

Ulrich didn't return it, "Where did you go when you ran off?"

It was a risky question to ask, and he could see how it affected Odd as his eyes went cold. Ulrich gulped, waiting for his best friend to respond. Many moments passed, before Odd finally answered, "The Hermitage. I was trying to tidy it up, that's how I got all these injuries." He scratched the back of his head, awkwardly, eyes focused on a spot on the wall just behind Ulrich.

A small "oh." was all the German could muster as thoughts on why Odd would do something so random as cleaning a house raced through his head. He wouldn't push further into the matter, Odd was obviously uncomfortable. Ulrich sighed, and leant back on his bed. The blonde would still not meet his eye, so he changed the topic of conversation to something lighter, "I gotta admit, she's a great kisser."

* * *

Aelita watched as Yumi laughed her head off on her end of the call as the pinkette recounted to her the poor decision making from earlier. "It isn't funny." Aelita moaned, yet her pleads went without result as she laughed even harder.

Yumi sighed, and wiped a tear from her eye. "You're right, it's not. God I'm probably being worse than Ulrich right now."

They were video calling in the midnight hour of France, Aelita because she couldn't sleep and Yumi because she didn't want to. Still trying to hold a straight face, Yumi fished her phone from her pocket as it buzzed. Looking at the small screen, Aelita watched as she bit her lip and a different kind of smile pull at her lips.

"Texting Ulrich?" Aelita asked. Yumi looked up at her camera and nodded, "How'd you know?"

She gave a knowing smile, "It isn't that hard to guess, you always pull that lovey-dovey face whenever he texts you." Aelita twirled a lock of hair in her fingers, "Speaking of which, tell me more about that kiss you had."

Yumi delved back into her story and Aelita listened with high interest, letting her mind take her off to a far away place where she fantasized about having a relationship like that. She sometimes would envy Yumi for having Ulrich - not because she wanted him, but she wanted to have someone as caring and as kind as him. It was then she realized she might already have that someone.

As though Yumi could read her thoughts, she put down her phone and said, "You really do care about Odd. More than the rest of us, even Ulrich. There's no point denying it, so tell me, why?"

Aelita blushed, but was determined with her answer, "He's always been there for me, not just with Lyoko, but when I thought my father had died after he gave me back my memory and when I was struggling to understand everyday life here."

It wasn't the complete answer, and they both knew it. But Yumi wanted to hear why, first hand, and pushed further, "And…? There has to be at least one more reason."

Aelita blushed even harder, "Well uhh…" She too had bit her lip, as her thoughts screamed the answer at her. Yumi was holding her breath, barely containing her anticipation. Aelita sighed in defeat, "I thought I loved Jeremie, for years I did. We were great together, but that was because of Lyoko. Now that Lyoko's not in our lives anymore, I thought he would change, but he was still the same. I loved the boy who saved the world from a computer screen. But now that's all he is - a boy at a computer screen. But Odd changed, he loved Lyoko yet he still let it go, and I know he's still here for me."

"So what are you saying?" Yumi persisted.

"I'm saying that I loved Jeremie and Odd both, but I was _in love _with Jeremie. But Odd is someone who truly loves me back. So when we shut Lyoko down, I stopped loving Jeremie and… and…"

Yumi was tense in her seat, on edge, wanting to yell at Aelita to say it, to say what they both already knew.

"Yumi, _I'm in love with Odd._"

* * *

_**The next day:**_

Winter had well set in now - the expanses of trees and grass around Kadic had been coated in a stunning frost which glinted over the campus. Snow clouds were brewing on the horizon, they'd be here by the end of the week. Students groaned as they left their beds with an 'I hate Mondays' air about them. Yet, underneath there was a small buzz with the buildup to the Christmas holidays. No school for three weeks.

Odd, Aelita, Jeremie, Ulrich and Yumi were all sitting together at their everyday table, all were quickly eating the hot porridge, despite the mediocre taste and gluttonous texture. The group sat divided, however, with the awkward glances between Jeremie and Aelita from the other three, all who were now aware of what happened a few days before.

Fortunately, the tension would be short lived as first period classes were elective, Jeremie was headed to pre-calculus, Ulrich to outdoor pursuits - a subject which he grumbled about now it was winter, and the rest to Drama class, a subject which merged both ninth and tenth grade classes.

Upon entering the performance room, they were surprised to see that the elderly teacher, Gustave Chardin, had been replaced by a much younger man. His well defined jaw was framed by dark stubble and the fact he still had a full head of hair placed him in his mid-to-late twenties. His eyes, a light chocolate colour, held a fatherly look and his physique showed he was a very fit man. He stood tall over the rest of the students - about six feet.

The three exchanged looks of confusion as they watched the teacher, who seemed completely unfazed by all the curious stares. He was leant up against the wall opposite from the door and, once the rest of the students filtered in a few moments later, stood properly, "Hello class. I'm your new teacher, Mr. Blake. Please call me Cain though, I'm not one for formalities."

His voice was rough and captivating, and his claim to be informal was proven by his attire, a simple white t-shirt and red pants, "I'm guessing you're wondering where Mr. Chardin is." There was a small murmur of "yes" from the class, "Over the weekend he tripped and broke his hip, and in hospital he decided that he was too old for teaching and has, unfortunately, retired."

Silence filled the room as the class, Odd, Aelita and Yumi included, waited for him to say more.

"This is the moment where you're supposed to pull sad faces, because you heard sad news." Cain smirked.

The class laughed as Cain continued, "I was to start work at Kadic as solely the male guidance counselor, while Yolanda would remain the female counselor, yet as you may have guessed I will be your next Drama teacher. If you want to know anything more about, ask away."

Hands flew into the air, Odd's included. After answering several questions, Cain took a step back, "I think that's enough questions for now. Best we get on with the class. So, I was filled in on where you guys are currently at this year, and that you have just finished your last project. But, I think you guys are at an age past reenacting other's works. So now, we are going to start on our own play, created entirely by us."

"What will it be about?" A student from the back of the class yelled.

"Ohh, I don't know. How about an action-comedy-romance? You may decide what the plot is."

The response from the class were vigorous nods and small cheers. "Excellent." Cain grinned, lets get to work.

As the class began scrambling into groups, as per instruction of Cain, to each come up with a plot, the three turned to face each other. "He seems like a nice guy." Aelita smiled.

Yumi rolled her eyes, "And, judging by the faces of those girls behind us, he's a looker as well." She gave a sharp jerk of her thumb backwards towards a group of tenth graders, giving the teacher glances, blushing and then whispering in-between giggles.

_A guidance counselor too, huh? _Odd thought to himself. He looked up at Cain, who was chatting with a group in the corner. _Maybe I can talk to him._

* * *

**Ugh, finally done! It's such a good feeling too! Sorry to all you guys for taking a bloody long time, but I'm back now.**

**So, I've introduced Cain Blake, he will play an important role in many chapters throughout the rest of the story, so I'm bringing him into the story here. Don't worry guys, I'm not that nice, serious stuff starts next chapter.**

**Don't forget to review, it's what inspired me to keep going with this chapter! Can we **_***gasps* **_**get to 50 reviews? I believe in you guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Guys, I am back after a long hiatus. Yes, you may now all cry in joy. I'm just playing, thanks to each and every one of you who have been reading, reviewing and staying with me so far. It means the world to me.**

**Chapter Seven**

Ulrich grimaced, running a hand through his hair. The one way to describe breakfast this morning was, well, awkward. As he waved off Yumi, Aelita and Odd he and Jeremie turned and walked the opposite direction. Before they too turned their different ways, Ulrich put and hand on the bespectacled boy's shoulder, "Mind if I can talk to you for a minute?"

Jeremie knitted his brow, "Sure, what about?"

"I noticed you and Aelita aren't talking anymore. What happened?" Ulrich asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable with the situation.

A steely look flashed over the blonde's face for a split-second, "We had a fight." Jeremie said, "Well… not so much a fight but a falling out."

"Lemme guess, it has something to do with Odd."

Jeremie sighed, "Correct. Not completely, but I decided to ask Aelita into town, and she said no. When I asked why Odd was _one _of the reasons. The others being about me."

Ulrich bit his lip, confused. _Unusual for Aelita, she always loves it when Jeremie comes out of his room. _"And she hasn't spoken to you since." He stated.

"Nope." Another sigh, "I mean, I know I wasn't all too caring about Odd when he fell into a bad spot, but I had no idea it was that serious. Still, I'll apologize to him and Aelita at lunch. No point sulking about it for months on end."

Ulrich patted him on the shoulder, "You're a good guy, Jeremie."

"Thanks Ulrich."

They turned off - both in a lighter mood than before - and went to their respective classes.

As the hour trickled by, Jeremie doodled on his maths book, disregarding the notes the teacher was giving the class. He lent back to admire his creation - XANA's eye on it's side, and five stick figures standing on top of it. He smiled to himself. _Those were the days._

An idea sprung into his mind, and he pulled out his phone to text Aelita. But before he could do so, he caught his reflection on the screen, and stared. Looking back was a boy he couldn't recognize. While there wasn't much difference in the features of his face, his eyes had lost that little glint that he saw whenever he shut off the computer screen after a successful Lyoko mission.

Jeremie instead changed his mind, and pocketed his phone. He felt Aelita was slipping away from him, and he knew why. It wasn't just because of his lack of caring for Odd, that was just the final straw. He hadn't changed since Lyoko. Now he was just a nerdy computer geek to which the word 'extravert' was foreign. He knew now that he had to change, or his friends would fall away from him.

* * *

After the school day had finished, Ulrich strolled back to his dorm, tired out from the many sporting classes he took and desperate for a short nap. However, he nearly tripped onto the dusty ground as he was pulled aside by Yumi. "Some people just say 'hello.'" He grunted.

She rolled her eyes and pulled him further into the shadows, "Right, I have something to tell you. I think you'll like it." In response, Ulrich yawned, "And why do we have to do it in the shadows."

"Because if Milly and Tamiya hear then we are _so _screwed." Ulrich looked up at her with interest, "What is it then?"

Yumi hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath, "So, last night, I was talking to Aelita and we were chatting about the date you and I went on yesterday. Girly stuff, blah blah. So, I change the topic of conversation to Odd and ask how he's doing and asked why she cared about him so much…"

Ulrich cut her off, "Get to the point."

Yumi simply glared at him and continued, "...I'm getting there. Anyway, I ask her why and she tells me that…"

Ulrich looked at her, eyebrows raised. "That what?"

"ThatshesinlovwithOdd." She said quickly.

"Come again?" Ulrich laughed. Yumi glanced back out at the Kadic courtyard, searching for eavesdroppers, "Aelita told me that she's in love with Odd." She said, voice barely above a whisper.

The brunette opened his mouth, ready to shout "_WHAT?!" _but Yumi covered it with her hand, "Don't shout."

Removing her hand, Ulrich closed his mouth and stood in silence for a moment, looking confused, surprised and happy all at once. "Somehow I saw this happening." He muttered after a while.

Yumi folded her arms disapprovingly, "How could you have known this would happen?"

The German shrugged, "Y'know, the way they've been looking at each other recently. She seems a lot happier when he's around. Same with Odd, he's usually cheery, but even more when Aelita's around."

Yumi gasped, "Wait, has Odd said anything to you about Aelita?"

"Nope. I can try get him to if you want, but you know how he's been recently; he might not wanna open up."

Yumi sighed, relieved, "Thanks a bunch, Ulrich." Without pausing to think, she gave him a quick kiss, winking as she walked away. _I think I have a girlfriend. _He thought to himself over and over as he slowly walked up to his dorm room.

Odd was laying on the bed, once again trying to beat his previous best on Tetris Master 3 as the brunette walked into the room. Ulrich threw his bag into the corner of the room and flicked on the heater that Kadic students were permitted to use during the winter. "How ya doing?" He asked as he hopped onto his bed.

The blonde merely grunted in response, too focused on the game to look up. When the familiar game over sound played, he moaned in annoyance and broke his gaze from the screen, "How was study class?"

"Boring, as always. Hey Odd, mind if I ask you something private?"

Odd stared at me for a second, "Go ahead."

Ulrich paused for a moment, wondering how he could word it correctly so he wouldn't upset him, "Uh, last night, when we were talking about Aelita, was there something else that you wanted to say to me?"

"What do you mean?" Odd responded a little too quickly.

Ulrich couldn't help but grin as he spotted the slight blush on his friend's face. "You know what I mean. I won't tell anyone." He hated lying, but it would be the only way Odd would tell him.

Odd's light hazel eyes bore into Ulrich's chocolate brown, trying to understand what the brunette _did_ mean, whilst Ulrich tried to give nothing away. Time was frozen in that moment as Odd's eyes glittered with understanding, and his whole face went red. "You think I have a crush on Aelita? Seriously?"

Ulrich couldn't help but smirk, "Not _just_ a crush Odd. Are you in love with her?" He folded his arms, and sat next to the blonde, "And I don't need some long-winded explanation. Yes or no will do."

Odd sat there, not answering and trying to hide his blush. Ulrich tried a kinder tone, "C'mon, man. I told you about Yumi. We're best friends, we shouldn't keep secre-"

"Yes."

Odd stood as Ulrich sat on the bed in shock, "I'm going for a shower. Tell no-one." He pulled a towel out of his cupboard. The German opened his mouth, but words failed him as Odd's gently clicked the door shut. He scrambled for his phone, writing a text to Yumi. "_He said yes." _

On the other side of town, Hiroki glanced at his bedroom wall as he heard Yumi squeal in joy from the other side.

* * *

As the Parisian sky began to glow with stars, Ulrich and Odd ran towards the cafeteria, shielding themselves as much as possible from the bitter cold. As they got to the door, they jumped back as it was flung open by Yumi. "What are you doing here?" The brunette asked, "I thought you went home."

"Nope." She shrugged, "Got bored, wanted to hang with you." Yumi turned to Odd, "Aelita's sitting inside, could you give Ulrich and me a minute?" The Italian gave a knowing grin as he dashed inside, laughing as he heard Ulrich's moans of "But it's so cold."

Grabbing his food, Odd slammed his tray on the table, making Aelita jump, then smile as she saw who it was, "Hey." She gave a wan smile. The blonde gave a concerned look, "Tired, princess?"

"Yeah. I stayed up late talking to Yumi last night, and to add to that Mrs Hertz gave me so much homework to do so I didn't have time to nap." Ignoring her food, she turned to face him. Odd gave a small chuckle and put an arm around her. She leant into him, resting her head on his chest. The pinkette yawned, which in turn caused Odd to also do so. "You're tiredness is contagious, princess. I've been infected."

"Let's infect the rest of the world, then. Just you and me." Aelita replied. Odd blinked, "I'd like that." He rested his chin on her head as she shifted closer into him. "How about you and I start tomorrow after a trip into town for some nice coffee and a box of chocolate croissants?"

"But, we have classes tomorrow." She protested, looking up at him.

"I know we do, but we can just ditch, we've done it a ton of times before. We can go during our lunch hour."

He didn't even need to look to know Aelita was grinning, "Della Robbia, you bad boy."

Odd gave a theatrical gasp, "You think of me as a bad boy. Only a noble knight would risk peril from the hand of Jim for his princess."

"Oh, so I'm _your _princess." Odd gulped, and felt the blood rush to his face. He kept his cool, as he replied, "If you want to be." Aelita smiled, "We'll see about that… after the coffee tomorrow." They both laughed, and Odd felt Aelita put her hand in his. He looked down at their fingers, laced together, hidden from view under the table, even though most of the other students had already returned to their dorms.

They sat in silence, food left cold and untouched on the table. After a moment, Odd heard Aelita mumble, "C'mon, let's get out of here, it's cold."

They both stood up, Odd stretching and yawning as he did. They both walked back to the dorm building, and the blonde offered to take Aelita back to her room as well. They filled the silence with small jokes, laughing all the while. As they began to part ways once they reached the pinkette's bedroom, Odd turned:

"Meet behind the gym at lunch tomorrow, we'll go for that coffee."

* * *

Ulrich and Yumi sat in the dimly lit rec room, talking in hushed voices. "I keep telling you, if those two got together they'd make a perfect couple."

Ulrich sighed, "Look, I'm not saying you're wrong, but they're supposed to be cousins. People will talk, and what happens if Delmas finds out. He might discover that Aelita isn't actually Odd's cousin. That could end up with Aelita being taken away." Yumi put her head into her hands, pressing her palms against her eyes, "I know. We could try explaining it away, but still, she's technically been missing for eleven years now, and supposed to be twenty-four."

"Think about Odd as well, he's been getting better, but if he loses Aelita he'll be distraught. And besides, I really don't think we should be the one's playing matchmaker. I mean, if they want to go for it, they should go for it, but we should leave them alone."

"There's just no winning with this. Unless we can figure out some way to make Aelita no longer his cousin, then they won't be able to date each other." The geisha looked up at Ulrich, "What are you staring at?"

Ulrich gave a smile. "You just look real good in this light."

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Boys, you can never stay focused." She said, as she pulled him into a kiss.

**Guys, I finally did it, how've your last seven months been. It's a little bit shorter than usual, but I'm getting my creative vibes back. Next chapter will be romancey, so look forward to that.**

**For those amazing people who still follow this story for so long, thanks so much. Leave a review telling me what you thought, you did such a great job last time (even though I don't deserve it).**

**With perfect slices, BreadLoaf :)**


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